6.10.04
Quality of light has a huge impact on quality of life.
"I think that on a physiological level we are all solar
powered," lighting designer Randall Whitehead observes. "If
we experience three days or more of clouds or rain, all the
energy seems to drain out of us. The moment the sun appears,
our whole mood changes and our energy level soars."
Although we're hard-wired to respond to light, humans only
vaguely recognize the enormous impact light has on our sense
of well-being.
"Light has this tremendous power to transform an environment
and everything in it, from the art on the walls to the
people who live in the rooms," Whitehead notes.
Whitehead, a pioneer in the rather young discipline of
residential lighting design, began his career in theater and
television lighting. He then worked with a photographer at
Architectural Digest magazine who become on of the first
proponents of lighting design as a separate discipline.
In 1979, Whitehead started his own company. Over the course
of the last 25 years, his reputation as a lighting design
speaker and consultant has grown to include an international
list of clients. He works regularly as part of an over all
design team with architects, interior designers, landscape
architects and building contractors.
He encourages the use of layered light that creates a
perfect atmosphere for architecture, for art and, above all,
for people.
"There is no single light fixture that can perform all
lighting needs," Whitehead explains firmly. The methods used
to light something or someone also vary considerably.
For example, the direction and way one lights a piece of
sculpture to show it to best advantage, emphasizing the
angles and planes of the work, is absolutely deadly when
lighting a face.
